Traded To The Lycan King by MG Wattsons

Terian glares at me, his jaw clenching like he wishes to refute me, but he says nothing. Instead, he looks at his father, who cackles before him, then he reaches down and grips him by the throat. "You are no different than me," his father chokes up, a bloody grin on his face.

I don't need to see his eyes to know the man has been mad for a long time. His brain slowly whittled away by the magic and heartache of losing more than one of his mates. Dragons may be different in how they choose a mate, but the bond is just as ironclad as ours. Love is the strongest of weapons, especially if wielded by someone undeserving and manipulative. I find, even after all of what has happened, I pity the once great king. Toppled by the need for love, killed by his own child's hand in front of his other child, he will never get the chance to see grow.

"I am now what you once were as a king, and I refuse to let anyone break me the way you were so easily broken." Then Teiran thrusts his hand into his father's chest, blood oozing over his wrist as he fights back tears, his face in a broken grimace.

He drops his father, allowing his body to tumble to the ground as he holds his heart in his fist, tears streaming down his cheek as his chest heaves. My side stomach churns at the sight and my body aches for his loss, but only long enough for me to look over at Hayes as Tiago throws himself at me. He buries his face in my neck, a wail breaking from him as if his own heart is breaking.

"It's okay, sweetie," I murmur in his little ear, then kiss his cheek. "Mama's got you."

An intense amount of heat hit me, taking my breath away as I snap my head up and watch as Teiran falls to his knees and breathes a flame of blue light at the heart in his hand, then he chants in a language I can not speak. When he stands again, his face is pale and his eyes heavy.

Each footfall looks like he is dragging a brick of cement along with him before he stops before me and looks me in the eye. Then he touches Tiago on the back and my sweet boy jumps in fear, turning his head shyly to look at his brother.

"We are born of the ash, and our king, our father, has returned to it. Your title will be waiting for you when you are ready, little brother." Then he takes his blackened hand and reaches out, drawing a symbol on Tiago's cheek. One that looks like a smudged dragon. "Teiran..." I mumble, unsure of what to say to him after everything that transpired. He pauses, looks at me before his lips tilt down and he looks at the ground.

"When he is of age, I will take charge of him, teach him how to rule, as he will now be my heir." Then he stalks off, alone and back into the woods, leaving us all flabbergasted and injured.

"Well...that was...not how I expected that to go," Colette says, startling me.

"I kind of expected you to be the one to get the kill, Hayes." Merikh admits and Hayes scoffs, leaning on me a little more as he shifts his good leg.

"You are the Alpha of death," Hayes reminds him and Merikh shrugs. "I sort of switched that title out for the Alpha of Hope."

"Can we maybe get you to a healer before we start teasing each other about useless things?" I glare at the two brothers who are acting like the last few years they hadn't been on the outs with each other.

"Luna!" I hear a voice behind us and I turn to see Percy, the gamma who has dedicated his life to the throne, his cheeks as red as his hair.

"The kids?" Colette rushes out, fear on her face as she steps toward him.

"The twins are fine but, but..." He pauses and looks down at the ground. "Tiago has disappeared. He exploded into a ball of fire and we turned away for just a second, to make sure Harmony and Dylan were okay and well..."

"He is here." I say softly and he whips his head around, his nose scrunching in confusion before he exhales and rolls his eyes. Percy places his hands on his hips and looks at Colette.

"Is this some weird dragon thing?" He asks, "Just like how Dylan can manipulate water?"

"He can do what?" Merikh screeches and looks at Colette, who makes an "oh shit" face.

"I think maybe Kyra is right. We should probably tend to the wounded." She hurries over to Merikh, stopping to take a pair of shorts out of a bag Percy has in hand.

Colette hands them to him as he

glares, but he doesn't fight off her hands when she wraps her arms around his waist and looks up at

him. Then he sweetly gives heranet

kiss on her forehead and turns to

walk with her under his arm, offering support if he may need it, but by the looks of it, he seems much better off than Hayes is.

"Do you have any other clothes in there?" I ask Percy and he reaches in, tossing me a top and shorts.

"Can you help?" I ask Percy, who rushes over and helps Hayes. "Oh, I thought you might take Tiago, actually."

He winces and swallows roughly before he clears his throat.

"No offense, but I'd rather carry Hayes by myself the whole way than take the little guy again."

I chuckle to myself, lowering Tiago for a moment as I quickly toss my shirt on and slip into my shorts before lifting the little guy up on my hip a little higher, smiling at him brightly.

"Come on buddy," I mutter to him as Percy helps Hayes.

"Walk in front," Hayes demands in a soft voice. My brows furrow, and I tilt my head as I look at him.

"Why?" I ask.

"So I can see that you are safe. I just...need to be able to have eyes on you two for a while, that's all."

"And here I thought you wanted to check me out." I tease. He smiles and shakes his head.

"I mean, there are bonuses to wanting to keep a close watch on you two." He says, then he winks.

The walk back feels like forever. Hayes looks awful and Tiago grows more fussy by the second, squirming as if he wants down to walk. And though I know he can walk now, even if he was a baby earlier today. "Tiago, we are almost back, okay? Can you be a good boy and stay calm a little longer?" I ask him and he pouts, shaking his head stubbornly.

Fantastic, he also adopted the terrible twos mindset along with his walking abilities. I exhale, exhausted from fighting, almost losing the two most important people in my life and the injuries I have sustained.

"You have to hold my hand, okay?" I say sternly, looking at him as he tilts his head to the side before he grins and nods.

As I bend down and drop his little

feet to the ground, he grabs hold of

my finger, gripping it tightly, just like

his hold on my heart. I look back over my shoulder, tears in my eyes as I watch Hayes smiling at the little boy at my side. He looks so proud as he watches him before he meets my eyes.

"Ohhh...hot!" Tiago squeals in excitement, drawing my attention as I spin back around and gape at the fire blazing in the pack. Sirens rush around, panicked as they do their best to extinguish the flames burning down the remainder of our joined packs.

"Shit!" Colette rushes past us before she drops to the ground, her hands spread over the green grass as her breathing steadies and the earth rumbles under my feet.

But before she can do anything, Tiago rushes forward, his chubby hands in the air as he laughs in glee. Then, as if the fire were under his command, it leaves the buildings and foliage floating in the air around him as he spins, playing with the flames. "What the hell is happening..." Merikh asks, though the question feels rhetorical as I watch my son in the happiest moment I have ever seen him.

"I-i-l don't know...maybe it's a dragon thing?" I whisper, looking at Hayes, who gives me a reassuring look.

"He is learning who he is, and it's safer for him in this controlled environment. If it gets too hot, Colette can extinguish it and we can explain to him the dangers of fire to us, and water to him."